February 2018 Bar Bulletin
December 2017
City of Spokane v. Horton
No. 93788-5, December 7
Court’s Case Summary
Article VII of the Washington Constitution requires that all taxes be uniform upon the same class of property. See Const. art. VII, §§ 1, 9, 10. In February 2015, the city of Spokane (City) enacted an ordinance that granted a local property tax exemption to senior citizens and disabled veterans. Relying on a letter by the Department of Revenue (DOR) stating its belief that the ordinance violates article VII, the Spokane County assessor and treasurer (collectively County) refused to implement the ordinance. The issue in this case is whether the City’s ordinance...